Braxton Ashcraft

Braxton Ashcraft

25-Year-Old PitcherRP
Pittsburgh Pirates
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Ashcraft is overshadowed within the Pirates' farm system by the likes of Bubba Chandler and even Thomas Harrington, but he's had a quick rise through the minors since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022. He's delivered strikeout rates of 29.6 and 25.8 percent in the last two seasons and maintained a particularly tidy 4.0 percent walk rate across 73 innings in 2024. Zooming out a bit, Ashcraft has an untraditional pitch mix for a starter, with his slider and curveball leading his arsenal. In contrast, his fastball is less well-regarded, which could cause issues in the majors when he faces hitters that have fewer issues handling velocity. Another major concern is Ashcraft's health. He lost nearly the entire second half of 2024 with forearm injuries, making only two starts after the calendar flipped to July. Monitoring his health will be key come February when he reports to spring training, though there isn't much standing in the way of his big-league debut given that he's already on the 40-man roster. Coming from an organization well regarded for its pitching development in recent seasons, Ashcraft has the chance to be a key late draft pick or FAAB addition. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#363
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Pirates in March of 2025.
Three shutout innings in debut
PPittsburgh Pirates
May 27, 2025
Ashcraft allowed two hits and one walk while striking out one across three scoreless relief innings Monday against the Diamondbacks.
ANALYSIS
Ashcraft was promoted to the majors Monday and immediately made his debut working out of the bullpen. He pitched with the Pirates down by five but managed a scoreless outing and preserved the team's bullpen. Ashcraft may remain in a long-relief role for the time being, but as one of the organization's best prospects, he should have a chance to enter the rotation at some point during the summer.
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Pitching Stats
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2025
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
32
Last 10 Games
32
Last 5 Games
32
How many pitches does Braxton Ashcraft generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Braxton Ashcraft generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-100%
BAA vs LHP
2025
 
 
-100%
BAA vs LHP
2024
No Stats
2023
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2023vs Left .000 7 1 1 0 0 0 0
Since 2023vs Right .250 8 2 0 2 0 0 0
2025vs Left .000 7 1 1 0 0 0 0
2025vs Right .250 8 2 0 2 0 0 0
2024vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
No Stats
2025
No Stats
2024
No Stats
2023
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2023Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Since 2023Away 0.00 0.75 4.0 0 0 0 6.8 2.3 0.0
2025Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2025Away 0.00 0.75 4.0 0 0 0 6.8 2.3 0.0
2024Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Braxton Ashcraft compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
3.00
 
K/9
6.8
 
BB/9
2.3
 
HR/9
0.0
 
Fastball
96.9 mph
 
ERA
0.00
 
WHIP
0.75
 
BABIP
.195
 
GB/FB
3.50
 
Left On Base
100.0%
 
Exit Velocity
79.5 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
0.0%
 
Spin Rate
2545 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
9.1%
 
Swinging Strike
7.7%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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More Fantasy News
Officially promoted to majors
PPittsburgh Pirates
May 26, 2025
The Pirates recalled Ashcraft from Triple-A Indianapolis on Monday, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
ANALYSIS
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Could be called up Monday
PPittsburgh Pirates
May 25, 2025
Ashcraft is expected to join the Pirates' taxi squad in Arizona and could be recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis ahead of Monday's series opener versus the Diamondbacks, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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Removed from big-league camp
PPittsburgh Pirates
March 11, 2025
The Pirates optioned Ashcraft to Triple-A Indianapolis on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Facing hitters in camp
PPittsburgh Pirates
February 17, 2025
Ashcraft (forearm) threw a live batting practice session Monday, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
ANALYSIS
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Back on IL with forearm injury
PPittsburgh Pirates
Forearm
August 31, 2024
Triple-A Indianapolis placed Ashcraft on its 7-day injured list Saturday due to a right forearm injury, MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
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